In Focus This Week
Trust but verify has become verify and trust…maybe
State and local election officials work to fight disinformation campaigns
By M. Mindy Moretti
Electionline.org
In the 20 months since the 2016 election, millions of dollars and millions of column inches have been spent on securing America’s elections. However, most of that money and most of that media coverage has focused on preventing a hack of America’s voting machines and systems.
But what about a hack of America’s mind — so-to-speak?
According to a Brookings Institute report, How to Combat Fake News and Disinformation, during the 2016 presidential campaign, Facebook estimated that 126 million of its platform users saw articles and posts promulgated by Russian sources. Twitter found 2,752 accounts established by Russian groups that tweeted 1.4 million times in 2016
Within the elections community, while securing the vote has and continues to take precedence, elections officials are also now turning their focus to the impact disinformation campaigns can have to the democratic process.
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office recently released a new video, as well as audience-specific PowerPoint presentations, to educate citizens on foreign interference in U.S. elections.
“Educating our citizens on how to recognize disinformation and misinformation is a top priority,” Secretary of State Mac Warner said. “Foreign entities know the best way to break down trust between citizens and citizens and their government is through division. We can’t allow that to happen.”
Warner presented his video and PowerPoint slides at the National Association of Secretaries of State conference earlier this summer and since then has done, or been asked to do presentations in more than a dozen states.
Although the presentations include declassified information from the Department of Homeland Security, all the work on the video and PowerPoint was done in-house by staff and summer interns in the secretary of state’s office.
“We have entered a new age – the age of Big Data – and our culture is being driven by algorithms, artificial intelligence, bots, blockchain, machine learning, micro-targeting and social media,” Warner said. “Unfortunately, Russia and other bad actors have weaponized these tools, and like judo experts, are using these against us. They know elections are the heart of democracy, so elections are the center of gravity for their disinformation operations.”
The secretary’s office worked directly with the West Virginia Department of Education to create a set of the PowerPoint presentation that is tailored to students. According to Michael Queen, deputy chief of staff and director of communications, said it’s been encouraging to meet and speak with state educators who know about the presentations and are already planning to use them in their curriculum this coming school year.
In Pasco County, Florida, Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley recently penned an op-ed about the impacts of misinformation and how to combat it.
Corley, a self-confessed recovering social media junkie, gave up on the platform because he could no longer take the half-truths, misleading comments and outright lies that persons were knowingly or unknowingly disseminating via retweets on Twitter and likes/shares on Facebook.
“The bottom line is this: These activities further erode voter confidence at such a pivotal time when we as election administrators work so hard to improve the voter’s confidence in the process,” Corley said.
And after reading “The Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election” by the Office of Special Counsel with intricate details on methods and actors involved in the meddling of our elections, Corley said he was angry.
“To read in the report how these nefarious actors used social media to further polarize Americans, delegitimize the winner and erode voter confidence made my angry,” he said.
He was also dismayed to see partisan politics ruin something that should have brought all Americans together, united in the defense of our democracy and elections.
“Instead, it became yet another partisan battleground with the ability to tell if one believed in the undeniable conclusions of the report based on which cable television news channel they watched,” Corley said.
He noted that regardless of party politics, any and every attempt to educate on the perils of spreading misinformation on social media to voters is paramount to offsetting what most certainly will continue through the 2020 cycle.
“We are currently working with our county public information department to develop PSA’s on this exact topic,” Corley said. “I use every opportunity to relay the importance of when in doubt, verify before sharing on social media.
Both Warner and Corley encouraged other elections officials to take the work that they’ve done and tweak it as they see fit to make it their own.
“The old adage ‘Sometimes the best defense is a good offense’ comes to mind as no longer can we in the elections community be ‘reactive’ with misinformation,” Corley said. “We need to stress to our constituents that we are their elections administrator and contact us for the truth. As we know, election administrators are nonpartisan professionals who exist to administer secure and transparent elections.”
Election Security Updates
According to The Hill, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Illinois), the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission demanding answers regarding election security oversight issues. Davis poses a series of questions that included what steps the EAC is taking to ensure there is a plan in place to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security in the event of a threat to election infrastructure in 2020, how the EAC is communicating its activities to the public, and details around the new Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines 2.0, which are a national voluntary set of standards for voting systems. Davis gave the EAC until Sept. 2 to respond.
“I remain committed to ensuring that local election officials have every resource they need to provide for a secure election in 2020,” Davis wrote according to The Hill. “Effective and focused oversight over the EAC is critically important in this mission.”
2019 Election Updates
Kansas: When your mom runs the local elections department you better make sure you cast your ballot early otherwise you could end up like Nathan Lehman whose mom Tabitha is the Sedgwick County, Kansas election commissioner. Tabitha recently called her son out on social media for not yet casting his ballot, but like any good elections official she also provided him with information about all his remaining voting options. According to Tabitha, he showed up Monday morning to cast his early ballot and spend some time with his mom. A win for democracy and moms everywhere! And in another win for voters, one polling place in Sedgwick County offers voters baked goods, water or coffee after they’ve cast their ballots. “It’s a way to kind of lighten the day and just encourage people to stay connected to their communities and involved by voting,” Rev. Bequi Flores, pastor of the church where the polling place is located explained to KAKE.
Michigan: In Michigan, which was holding its first election since many new voting reforms were put in place by the voters, it was a relatively quiet day although there was an issue with a polling place opening late in Flint because the doors to the site were not unlocked in time. Also in Flint, things got a bit ugly when Genesee County Clerk John Gleason accused Flint Clerk Inez Brown for being part of the reason only 10 percent of the voters bothered to vote. Although it’s summer break, students in Melvindale helped out at the polls. And in Dearborn Heights, 90-year-old Helen Walczaku made a point of coming to the polls even though she now could have voted absentee with no excuse. Speaking of no-excuse absentee voting, in Lansing a whopping 76 percent of voters cast their ballot by absentee.
Mississippi: A polling place in Hinds County opened late after a polling manager suffered a heart attack. It took about two hours to find a replacement for the election official. There is no work on their condition. In Jackson County, voters had to use paper ballots at one precinct after early morning issues with voter cards. About two dozen voters at one polling location had to cast absentee ballots because the poll workers did not have the voter rolls, which were eventually dropped off about 30 minutes after the polls opened. An SUV crashed into a polling place in Lamar County around 6:30p.m. No one was injured and voting continued until the regular closing time. In some areas, election day turnout was down, but absentee turnout was up. In Lauderdale County, Election Commission Chairperson Awana Simmons blamed the county’s late results on the length of the ballot. She said there were no technical issues. In Harrison County, a missing and eventually found thumb drive changed the court of one race. And in the race for secretary of state, State Sen. Michael Watson (R) will take on former Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree (D) in November.
New York: On Tuesday, Judge John G. Ingram began his review of about 100 disputed ballots in the Democratic primary for Queens DA. After Ingram refused to reinstate most of the ballots, Caban conceded the election, losing by just 55 votes.
Also in New York, State Supreme Court Judge James McClusky has ruled that all three candidates for mayor of Watertown will appear on the ballot. Only the top two finishers are supposed to appear on the November ballot, but the candidates in second and third place were tied and with no laws on the book to break an election tie, McClusky has ruled that both the second and third place finisher will go through.
Tennessee: Thursday Aug. 1 was election day in Davidson County and while overall things went smoothly, one polling place in Nashville did have issues with its ballot scanning machine. Voting was not affected. Voters will head back to the polls in September for a runoff election in the Nashville mayoral race.
Washington: All eyes were on The Evergreen State this week as Washington rolled out its new VoteWA voter registration system and same-day registration. Despite early concerns and some issues like those in King, overall the new system and the implementation of same-day registration rolled out without a hitch on primary day. “Everything went according to plan and worked out really well,” King County Elections Director Julie Wise told The Seattle Times after Tuesday night’s election results posted. The introduction of same-day registration seemed to go well too. Some counties had no people exercise that option and some only had a handful, but there were no issues with those who did. In total, 3,029 people registered to vote on election day.
Election News This Week
A new law in Ohio, the language of which was included in the state’s budget, will now allow voting locations with multiple precincts to have as few as two poll workers pre precinct. Before the new language was included in the budget, elections boards had to hire at least four poll workers per precinct. According to the Columbus Dispatch, counties have been fighting to make this change for five years because of the difficulty in finding and keeping enough poll workers. “Unfortunately, we are just really having a lot of difficulty recruiting poll workers, keeping poll workers,” Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Elections Officials told the paper. “It’s a tough job. It’s a long day.” Ockerman also told the paper that the way Ohioans vote now is dramatically different than in 2004 when the state was plagued with long lines.
Using the 54th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act as a backdrop, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, federal and state legislators, the League of Women Voters and other voting rights advocates called on the state Legislature to include voting rights reform in an upcoming special session. According to the Hartford Courant, They’d like to implement automatic voter registration, fix problems with Election Day registration and give residents on parole the right to vote. A bill that included all three of the proposed changes died in the state Senate as the legislative session came to a close in early June. House Bill 7160, An Act To Increasing Voter Access, passed in the House on May 28 but stalled in the Senate amid partisan tension over which bills would be heard in the session’s final days. Merrill is urging for the reforms to be taken up during the special session to give her office time to implement them. “It cannot wait until the next session,” Merrill said.
This is a pretty cool idea! For the third time, Contra Costa County, California’s Elections Division will be holding a photo contest with the winning photo being featured on the cover of the county’s 2020 voter guide which hits more than 650,000 mailboxes. The theme of this year’s contest is “The Flora and Fauna of Contra Costa County.” “The Photo Contest is a fun way to get our residents involved in the election process and pique their interest in voting,” Registrar of Voters Joe Canciamilla told East County Today. “It’s also a great way to highlight the talent of our residents.” The second and third place winners will also have their photos featured on the Elections Division website, in the office lobby and in other elections publications. The first contest was held in 2016 and received more than 100 entries. We’re looking forward to seeing the winner!
It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it! During a recent visit Johnson County, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft declared Yummy’s Donut Palace to have the best doughnuts in the county. Clerk Diane Thompson organized the contest of five of the county’s purveyors of fried dough and glaze after she learned that the secretary is a big fan of stopping in doughnut shops in each county he visits.
Personnel News: Peggy Reeves has retired as the Connecticut elections director. She served in that role for eight years. Congratulations to Allison Coast is the new director of voter registration for McKean County, Pennsylvania. Gail Garbrandt is the new Tuscarawas County, Ohio board of elections director. Nathan Zeno Shelton, Jr. has been appointed the new registrar of voters for Hopewell, Virginia. Margetta Hill is the interim elections administrator for Victoria County, Texas. Susan Williams is the new Pender County, North Carolina elections director. Jennifer Robinson has resigned as the Queen Creek, Arizona clerk, a job she has held for 20 years. TeAnna McKinney is the new McMinn County, Tennessee administrator of elections. Damon Circosta has been appointed to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Rachel Parker has been appointed Peoria County, Illinois clerk. Robert Sherman, Republican registrar of voters in Southington, Connecticut has resigned after nearly 50 years in the town’s election department. Congratulations to Auglaize County, Ohio board of elections director Michelle Wilcox, Henderson County, Texas Election Administrator Denise Hernandez and Aransas County, Texas Elections Administrator Michele Bennett Carew for being designated as Certified Elections/Registration Administrator.
In Memoriam: Richard Bauer, former St. Louis County, Missouri election official died on July 22 after a battle with Myotonic Dystrophy. He was 75. Bauer was first hired to the elections office in 1985 by then-director and former EAC Commissioner Paul DeGregorio. In addition to his duties in the St. Louis elections office, Bauer was also an active observer of international elections doing observation work in places like Albania, Bosnia, Ukraine and Belarus. “He didn’t just represent the US in a technical way on these missions, he was the heart and soul of the United States. He wanted to know people, stay in their homes, meet their family and friends and learn what made them happy. Over the years Dick kept in touch with his interpreters, drivers and people he met along the way,” DeGregorio wrote in a Facebook post memorializing his friend. Bauer is survived by his four children, his brothers and sisters-in-law along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Research and Report Summaries
The University of Southern California’s California Civic Engagement Project issued a research brief on implementation of the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) last month. The brief, California Voter’s Choice Act Implementation Process: Election Administration Plan and Vote Center Siting, is the third in a series on VCA implementation, and is accompanied by two best practice summary reports on election administration plan development and vote center and drop box siting. Drawing on the experience of the five counties that adopted the VCA for the 2018 midterm elections, the study outlines key VCA requirements, summarizes the state of VCA implementation, identifies community engagement challenges faced by election officials, examines important factors relevant to vote center and drop box siting, and offers recommendations to counties who will adopt the VCA for 2020 and future elections.
(Research and Report Summaries are written by Dave Kuennen.)
Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: Sen. Barbara Feinstein (D-California) has introduced the Voter Privacy Act which would allow voters to access data collected on them by political campaigns and organizations. It would allow voters to ask political campaigns to delete it and instruct social media platforms like Google and Facebook to stop sharing personal data with those political entities.
California: Assembly Bill 2028 is headed to the governor’s desk. Under the legislation, San Mateo County would join Yolo County in being able to offer largely vote-by-mail elections.
Oregon: Paid postage for return ballots is now law after Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill late last week. It’s estimated that the postage will cost Oregon about $1.6 million in the next two years.
Legal Updates
Maryland: The National Federation for the Blind as well as three blind voters have sued the state board of elections alleging blind voters are being discriminated against when attempting to cast a ballot. The suit claims the voters are being denied a secret ballot. According to The Baltimore Sun, the ballot marking devices used by blind voters print a paper ballot that is different in shape and size than the default paper ballots most voters use. “Thus, when only one voter uses the [Ballot Marking Device] in her precinct, her ballot becomes easily identifiable, destroying the secrecy of her vote,” the lawsuit states.
Mississippi: In the voter fraud case against a Canton city employee, the jury was hung on one count of voter fraud and not guilty of conspiracy to commit voter fraud.
New York: In a five-page written resolution, the Niagara County Legislature voted unanimously to file suit against the state’s new “Green Light Law” because lawmakers said allowing immigrants who enter the country illegally to obtain driver’s licenses could enable them to vote in elections.
North Dakota: Turtle Mountain Tribe Chairman Jamie Azure says the tribe is examining whether or not to pursue further appeals in the tribe’s fight over North Dakota’s voter ID law. Azure told a local Fox affiliate he expected the decision but is still disappointed. The silver lining he said is that the 2-1 opinion was narrowly written, leaving the door open for challenges. “The 8th Circuit didn’t address the Voting Rights Act claims. Those remain valid, available claims for the voters affected by this decision,” said Azure.
Texas: Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of two Texas voters has filed suit alleged that the state law that allows “untrained local election officials to arbitrarily and subjectively” reject mail-in ballots based on mismatching signatures violates the Fourteenth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Tech Thursday
Voting Machines: This week, Politco features “The scramble to secure America’s voting machines,” that tracks the push to move away from paperless voting and what’s happening in the 14 states that still offer it. The five takeaways from the series: Many counties don’t have enough money to upgrade; Some county officials prefer paperless machines; Serving people with disabilities presents security challenges; Bureaucratic roadblocks get in the way; and The winner of the popular (Express)Vote. Reporter Eric Geller and the team at Politico spent the past five months tracking this information.
Social Media: The Pew Research Center has some interesting new information about Americans and their use of Twitter. Among the things the new research found is that only about 22 percent of U.S. adults say they use Twitter. Most U.S. Twitter users are younger, have more education and higher incomes than U.S. adults overall. Two important things for elections folks to keep in mind, the research found that 71 percent of Twitter users get their news from the site, however according to PRC because a relatively small share to Americans use Twitter to begin with, that means fewer than one-in-five U.S. adults get news from the site.
Georgia: Although it was announced last week that Georgia will spend $107 million on a contract with Dominion Voting Systems for a new statewide voting system, the new voting machines have not yet passed state tests for accuracy, reliability and security. Tess Hancock, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said the testing is expected to be completed soon.
Montana: The secretary of state’s office is delaying a move to new voter registration system until 2021. Previously Secretary of State Corey Stapleton had said the state would make the switch from MontanaVotes to ElectMT before the 2020 election cycle. However, with election turnout expected to be through the roof, count election officials had expressed concerns about making the move during a critical election year. “The whole association is extremely excited with the decision to wait and not roll it out in the 2020 election,” Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders President Stephanie Verhasselt, who is the Richland County clerk and recorder told The Missoulian. “We do believe when the new system comes out, once we get it working and everyone trained, I think it will have a lot of features we like.”
Opinions This Week
National Opinions: Election security, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI | Voter suppression | Voting rights, II
Arizona: Maricopa County
Colorado: Election security
Connecticut: Voter suppression
Florida: Election security
Iowa: Voter registration database | Special election date
Maine: Election security, II
New York: Recounts
North Carolina: Election security | Voting machines | Election fraud
Ohio: List maintenance
Pennsylvania: Election security | Absentee voting
Tennessee: Ranked choice voting
Texas: Accessibility | Voting laws | Election security
Utah: New voters
West Virginia: List maintenance
Upcoming Events
NSGIC Elections GeoSummit: The Elections GeoSummit brings together the nation’s leaders in elections management and geographic information systems (GIS) to share leading-edge findings and craft best practices to enhance election systems through 2020 and beyond. The event represents the culmination of NSGIC’s two-year Geo-Enabled Elections project, and features agenda highlights including learnings and best practices from states working to integrate GIS in Elections. Wisconsin Election Administrator Meagan Wolfe will be the keynote speaker. When: August 14. Where: Washington, DC.
Election Center 35th Annual National Conference: This year’s Conference attendees will be inspired and energized as we head into the final stretch of the 2019 Election year. We will share substantive elections issues including crucial critical infrastructure information, new election initiatives and tons of practical and meaningful election administration tools and resources including the newest innovations and ideas to help election officials as the 2020 presidential year quickly approaches. When: Aug. 17-24. Where: Orlando.
CTCL Post-Election Audits Online Series: The Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) is launching a 3-course online series on Post-Election Audits, in partnership with Jennifer Morrell and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT). Whether you conduct traditional audits, risk-limiting audits, or none at all, this curriculum will empower you to conduct more rigorous post-election audits and boost public trust. Each 90 minute course costs $50 per attendee. Where: Online. When. Aug. 20-27.
Job Postings This Week
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Bilingual Resources and Marketing Specialist, Gwinnett County, Georgia — Gwinnett County Voter Registration and Elections is responsible for planning and organizing all election voter-related activities and assist Gwinnett’s cities and special districts with election preparations. The division is comprised of staff that are proud to be part of a team that works together to assure that every vote counts. This position will be responsible for marketing and outreach for our Elections Division. The incumbent will create marketing material, work with community partners/organizations and conduct outreach related to Gwinnett County’s Election Division and the Bilingual Election Law (Sec. 203 of the Voting Rights Act). The incumbent must be proficient in oral, written and reading comprehension of the Spanish language. The primary responsibility for this position will be to educate and inform various community organizations, registered and prospective voters about election processes in both English and Spanish. The incumbent will also be required to set up and take down tables, display boards and various marketing materials for public events. Salary: $42,1620 $48,486. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Customer Support Consultant, Hart InterCivic— The Customer Support Consultant is responsible for providing application and hardware support to Hart InterCivic customers via telephone and email for all Hart InterCivic products. The Support Consultant is also responsible for monitoring all requests to ensure efficient, effective resolution. The successful CSC will work directly with customers and other staff members. The position is responsible for responding to customer contacts, dealing with issues in a professional manner, providing technical direction to customers in a manner they can understand and being a customer advocate. The CSC must have outstanding written and verbal communication skills. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Deputy Registrar of Voters, Lake County, California — The Deputy Registrar of Voters under administrative direction is to assist with the planning, organization, direction, and administration of the operations of the Elections Department; to perform a variety of administrative, staff, and office support functions; to assist with training staff and temporary election personnel; to perform a variety of difficult, complex, and specialized election technology and support work for the conduct of local elections; to provide assistance and information to the public; to serve as the department head in the absence of the Registrar of Voters. Salary: $4,493.00 – $5,460.00 Monthly. Deadline to apply: Sun. 08/18/19 5:00 PM Pacific Time. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections Director, Ada County, Idaho— The Elections Director collaborates with the Clerk of the District and Chief Deputy to plan, oversee, and administer elections for over 200,000 registered voters across 150 precincts. The Elections Director is responsible for ensuring all of the necessary resources are acquired and in place, poll workers are well prepared, and that Ada County’s elections are conducted in an accurate, efficient, and transparent manner that leaves Ada County voters with the upmost confidence in the elections process.The Elections Director is expected to exercise independent judgment and discretion, under the general direction of the Clerk of the District Court & Chief Deputy, to manage the administration of all federal, state, county and local district elections. The Director is responsible for planning, designing, and carrying out programs, projects, studies or other work related to election administration within Ada County. Salary: $77,500-$87,500 annually. Deadline: August 19th, 2019. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Procurement Coordinator, Virginia Department of Elections — The Department of Elections (ELECT) is seeking a Procurement Coordinator to plan, direct, and/or coordinate procurement & administrative services for the Department of Elections (Elect) using a variety of administrative and business functions, such as fiscal services, facilities, procurement, office services/systems, and human resources. Provides business function support, and administrative support, for Elect Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner’s, Director of Business/Finance Services, Director of Election Services, Director of Community Relations and Compliance and Director of IT Services. Coordinates and/or assists in the coordination of agency administrative processes to include, records management, procurement (including SPCC activity), and selling of voting information. Salary: Up to $50K. Deadline: August 15. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Program Associate, Elections Policy, The Democracy Fund — Democracy Fund’s Elections team is seeking a Program Associate to promote and advocate for national issues in voting policy, particularly election law and election cybersecurity policy. This role presents a unique opportunity to blend philanthropy, policy development, and legislative advocacy. The successful candidate will be passionate about educating leaders, officials, and the public on the urgent need for election reform and the danger that attacks on the electoral process pose to our democracy. he Program Associate will focus on increasing the public’s trust in elections, improving election security, advancing policies and practices that make elections more accessible, and reducing attempts to change election law for partisan benefit. Day-to-day tasks will include grantmaking, policy work, advocacy, coalition and relationship building, thought leadership, and developing innovative approaches to reduce real or perceived threats to American elections. We are looking for candidates who are determined to help our democracy work better. Strong candidates will possess several years of experience working on voting or election policy and leading advocacy or legislative policy change. The successful candidate will have a track record of working well with others to get things done in a complex, fast-paced environment and will thrive as part of a small, highly collaborative team. The Program Associate will report to the Associate Director, Elections. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Program Director, National Voter Registration Day — We are seeking a Program Director to organize and rally key national partners around one of the most prominent and important civic holidays in the nation – National Voter Registration Day – held on the fourth Tuesday of every September. In 2020, we aim to break past years’ records and register over one million voters with the help of over 50 major national partners and 4,500 field partners. To do this we require a creative and entrepreneurial Program Director with sincere people skills and a passion for civic engagement and democracy. Salary: $68,000 and $76,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Project Manager, Hart InterCivic— Project Managers at Hart InterCivic are highly motivated “self-starters” who are enthusiastic about providing exceptional customer service. Working with other members of the Professional Services and Operations teams, the Project Manager directs activity, solves problems, and develops lasting and strong relationships with our customers. Hart InterCivic’s unique and industry known culture of innovation, transparency, and customer-centric focus creates an environment where team members will continually grow and be challenged to develop their careers. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Product Manager, Hart InterCivic — as Product Manager, you will join a team that is charged with product planning, design, and execution throughout the lifecycle of Hart’s products, in support of the company’s overall strategy and goals. This includes: gathering, validating, and prioritizing internal and external customer needs; documenting and communicating product and technical requirements; gathering market and competitive intelligence; supporting the certification, sales, and marketing teams. The Product Manager must possess a unique blend of business and technical savvy – with experience in elections technology or other government-oriented products preferred. To succeed in this role, the ideal candidate must spend time in the market to understand its unique attributes; demonstrate competence with specialized hardware and software; and find innovative solutions for the broader market. The Product Manager plays a key role in helping others to understand the product positioning, key benefits, and target customer, as well as providing advanced subject matter expertise in using the company’s products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Research Analyst, Bipartisan Policy Center— The Bipartisan Policy Center has an immediate opening for a research analyst serving the Governance Program. Conduct independent, qualitative and quantitative research to support project policy work and gain substantive knowledge for the Elections Project and Congress Project; Specific workflows will include task forces exploring ways to improve the voting experience, efforts to bolster U.S. election legitimacy, and research and policy development to reform Congress and encourage a better functioning legislative process; Assist policy teams with research for and drafting of written materials including blogs, issue briefs, white papers, policy memos, and reports; Attend internal project meetings as requested; prepare pre-meeting and post meetings notes and memorandum; Attend external meetings, hearings, and other events; take notes; identify important take-aways and information to be share with project teams; Work with the project associate and events team to plan and execute internal and external events; Assist with the development of podcasts, videos, social media content and other communications activities; Track project outcomes and successes for impact statements and project reports; Assist with selection of and management of interns; Contact management and data entry; Other duties as assigned. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Research Scientist, MIT Election Data and Science Lab— MEDSL seeks a research scientist to oversee the data science workflow of the lab’s election-related data collection, processing, and dissemination efforts. MEDSL aims to improve the democratic experience for all U.S. voters by applying scientific principles to how elections are studied and administered. Responsibilities include assisting the director with designing and implementing research projects; gathering and analyzing data, designing research protocols, and documenting results; managing data science and quality control for the 2018 release of the Elections Performance Index (EPI); acquiring data from government sources and designing protocols to update indicators not provided by government sources; assisting with redistricting data collection/dissemination efforts; working with web designers to update EPI website and creating original content for MEDSL website; onboarding and monitoring the work of students/research support associates; tracking scholarship in the field of election science; and performing other data science/administrative/reporting duties as assigned. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Sales Specialist, VOTEC— VOTEC’s Sales Specialist is responsible for creating news sales with prospects and existing clients in targeted areas in the US. We are looking for an election professional comfortable using insight and consultative selling techniques to create interest that offers unique solutions on their operations, which link back to VOTEC’s solutions. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Training Manager, Maricopa County, Arizona— The Training Manager develops, delivers, and maintains training materials specific to educating elections support staff as they provide critical assistance to the County’s registered voters. Additionally, the Training Manager will work collaboratively with Recorder training staff to identify and recommend training opportunities for Elections Department staff, designing and maintaining robust training strategies that will allow our employees to grow their skills in new and challenging areas. The Training Manager will utilize various delivery methods for training based on advanced understanding of learning modalities and adult learning theory. Courses may cover a variety of subjects including general information, technical knowledge, leadership development, change management, and process improvement methods. Salary: $25-$38.80/hourly. Deadline: August 12. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Marketplace
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